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Players Recently Electing Free Agency

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As the offseason gets underway, players around baseball continue to elect minor league free agency.  While the threshold for big league free agency (six-plus years of Major League service time) is well known, there are several methods of qualifying for minor league free agency.  The most common criteria: players with 3+ years of MLB service time who have been outrighted off their teams’ 40-man rosters this season, players who have been outrighted off a 40-man roster multiple times in their career, or unsigned players not on a 40-man roster who have spent parts of at least seven seasons on a minor league roster or injured list.

Each of these players has recently hit the open market in the last few days, according to the official transactions pages for both Triple-A East and Triple-A West.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/12/21

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The latest minor league moves from around the sport…

  • Rays catcher Joseph Odom has been outrighted to the team’s alternate training site.  Odom was designated for assignment last week and cleared waivers.  Tampa Bay signed Odom to a minor league deal in the offseason and the 29-year-old catcher has thus far appeared in two games for the Rays in 2021.  Odom made his big league debut with the Mariners last season, posting a .338 OPS over 44 plate appearances in 18 games with Seattle.

Rays Select Hunter Strickland, Place Pete Fairbanks On IL

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10:02 am: Fairbanks expects to miss around a month, he tells reporters. Cash says the righty will be shut down from throwing for two to three weeks. (Topkin links).

9:07 am: The Rays are selecting the contract of reliever Hunter Strickland, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link) and Adam Berry of MLB.com (via Twitter). Catcher Joseph Odom has been designated for assignment to open 40-man roster space. Additionally, outfielder Brett Phillips has been activated from the injured list, while right-hander Pete Fairbanks is headed to the 10-day IL with a right rotator cuff strain.

Strickland had a productive run with the Giants from 2015-18 but has fallen on hard times over the past couple seasons. He managed just a 5.55 ERA/5.01 SIERA between the Mariners and Nationals in 2019, then tallied just 3.1 innings of four-run ball with the Mets last year before being sent to the alternate training site. The hard-throwing righty signed a minors contract with Tampa Bay in February and is now in line to make his team debut.

Fairbanks’ loss is another blow to a Rays’ bullpen already without Nick Anderson and Chaz Roe for extended periods of time. It isn’t clear how long Fairbanks will be on the shelf, but a lengthy absence would deprive Tampa Bay of one of their best relievers. The 27-year-old tossed 26.2 innings of 2.70 ERA/3.48 SIERA ball in the regular season in 2020, earning manager Kevin Cash’s trust in the late innings for the postseason.

Phillips returns after opening the year on the IL due to a hamstring strain. He could see some playing time as the fourth outfielder while Kevin Kiermaier is on the shelf with a quad strain. Odom was selected to the Rays’ roster last week and went hitless in a pair of plate appearances.

Rays Place Ryan Sherriff On Restricted List, Select Joseph Odom

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The Rays have placed lefty Ryan Sherriff on the restricted list. The club says that he is “going to take some time away from the game.” To respect his privacy, they will withhold anything more specific for now. Catcher Joseph Odom has been selected to take his place on the roster, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links).

The 30-year-old Sherriff was one of three southpaws in the Rays’ bullpen. Cody Reed and Jeffrey Springs remain. Big picture, Shane McClanahan and Josh Fleming are two more southpaws who will figure into the Rays’ pitching mix at some point this season. Brendan McKay could also make an impact when he returns from the injured list.

As for Sherriff, he was brilliant for the Rays in his 10 appearances last season. He did not allow a run over 9 2/3 innings while coaxing a 56.7 percent groundball rate. He was a late addition to the playoff festivities, joining the active roster for the World Series and tossing two more scoreless frames.

Odom, 29, is new to the Rays’ organization this season. He signed as a free agent this winter after making his Major League debut with the Mariners in 2020. He slashed .129/.209/.128 across 44 plate appearances. For as long as he’s on the roster, Odom will be a third catching option behind Mike Zunino and Francisco Mejia, which may allow manager Kevin Cash to give Mejia an opportunity to DH. Odom was a member of Tampa’s taxi squad.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/16/20

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The latest minor league moves from around baseball…

Latest Moves

  • The Rays have signed catcher Joe Odom to a minors pact, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. A 13th-round pick of Atlanta in 2013, Odom stuck with the Braves organization through 2017 before joining the Mariners in the ensuing winter’s Rule 5 Draft. Odom did make it to the majors for the first time last season with Seattle, collecting 44 plate appearances, but the 28-year-old batted a meek .128/.209/.128 with no extra-base hits and 20 strikeouts. The Mariners outrighted him after that.

Earlier Today

  • The Rangers signed right-hander Luis Ortiz to a minors contract, the team announced.  Ortiz has a 12.71 ERA over career 5 2/3 innings in the majors (with the Orioles in 2018-19), and is making his return to Texas after being drafted 30th overall by the Rangers in 2014.  He has been part of two notable deadline trades, included as part of the trade package sent to Milwaukee for Jonathan Lucroy in 2016, and then the Brewers shipped him to the Orioles in July 2018 as part of the Jonathan Villar/Jonathan Schoop swap.
  • The Brewers signed outfielder/first baseman Dustin Peterson to a minor league deal, as originally reported by Ana Soriano of RIDA Sports (Twitter link).  Originally a second-round pick for the Padres in the 2013 draft, Peterson has a .262/.316/.382 slash line over 2918 career minor league plate appearances in the Padres, Braves, and Tigers farm systems.  At the big league level, Peterson has a .570 OPS over 49 PA with Atlanta and Detroit over the 2018-19 seasons.  Most recently, Peterson posted big numbers for the independent Sugar Land Skeeters in 2020 and is currently tearing it up in the Mexican Pacific Winter League.
  • Catcher Tim Federowicz has signed with the Dodgers, as Federowicz revealed himself on Twitter.  This will be the veteran’s second stint in Los Angeles, as he spent his first four MLB seasons (2011-14) with the Dodgers.  It’s probably safe to assume that it is a minor league contract, as the Dodgers have Will Smith and Austin Barnes in the majors and top prospect Keibert Ruiz in the wings after his Major League debut last season.  Appearing in parts of eight seasons with six different teams, Federowicz has a .568 OPS over 443 career plate appearances and 163 games at the big league level.  He didn’t see any MLB action in 2020 after signing a minors deal with the Rangers last offseason.

Mariners Outright Four Players

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The Mariners announced the outrights of four players: right-handers Brady Lail and Seth Frankoff, and catchers Joe Hudson and Joseph Odom. Hudson and Lail have elected free agency, while Frankoff and Odom were assigned to the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma. Seattle’s 40-man roster is down to 34 players.

Lail was claimed off waivers from the White Sox in August. He allowed eight runs (including five homers) in 15 innings down the stretch, striking out eleven against seven walks. Frankoff signed a minor-league contract the day after Seattle claimed Lail. He was eventually selected to the roster but only pitched in two games, allowing five runs in 2.2 innings. A longtime KBO starter, Frankoff will be eligible for minor-league free agency this offseason.

Hudson and Odom each unexpectedly picked up some of the slack behind the plate this season. Presumptive starter Tom Murphy missed the entire season with a foot fracture but figures to return to action next spring. Luis Torrens, who came over from the Padres in the Austin Nola trade, hit fairly well down the stretch and looks to have staked a claim to the backup job. Like Frankoff, Odom can elect minor-league free agency this winter.

Mariners Select Joe Odom

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The Mariners announced that they have selected catcher Joseph Odom’s contract and sent left-hander Taylor Guilbeau to their alternate training site. Guilbeau will remain a part of their taxi squad.

The Odom addition gives the Mariners a full 40-man roster, and it could put the 28-year-old in position to make his major league debut. Odom entered the pro ranks as a 13th-round pick of the Braves in 2013, but they lost him to the Mariners a few years later in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft. He has little experience at the Triple-A level, though, and generally hasn’t produced much as a hitter in minor league ball. Through 1,668 plate appearances – including 100 in Triple-A – Odom has batted .239/.305/.366 with 34 home runs.

Now that he’s on his way to Seattle, Odom will give the team another backstop option alongside Austin Nola and Joe Hudson (though the M’s scratched Nola from their lineup Tuesday for an unknown reason). The Mariners have been without starting catcher Tom Murphy so far this year because of a broken bone in his foot.

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